I trust him – Solskjaer refusing to drop struggling De Gea

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not contemplating taking Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea out of the firing line despite some high-profile errors in recent weeks.

De Gea is in the midst of arguably his worst season at United since his first campaign, when his difficult adaptation to English football occasionally saw him dropped in favour of Anders Lindegaard.

The Spain international has been particularly criticised in the last few weeks, as he allowed a Lionel Messi shot to squirm under him in United’s 3-0 Champions League defeat to Barcelona, before failing to keep out a Leroy Sane effort in the Manchester derby loss on Wednesday.

It has been suggested De Gea should be dropped in favour of dependable understudy Sergio Romero, though Solskjaer is going to keep his faith in the Spaniard for Sunday’s visit of Chelsea.

Ole on @D_DeGea: “I trust David and he’s, for me, been the best player United have had the last six or seven years. He’s been absolutely outstanding. Going through tough patches is just part of a footballer’s career and David will be fine.” #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Xe90kjJKM1

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 26, 2019

When asked if he was considering taking De Gea out of his starting line-up, Solskjaer replied: “No, not at all. I trust David.

“He’s been the best player United have had for six or seven years, he’s been absolutely outstanding. Going through tough patches is a part of the career. David will be fine, I’ve no worries.”

It was put to Solskjaer that the ongoing contract extension stalemate between the club and De Gea has played a part in his dip in form, but the manager has seen no reason to be concerned about the Atletico Madrid product’s commitment.

“That’s something you have to deal with as a footballer. You don’t always have a contract for five, 10, even three years,” added Solskjaer. “David is coming in every single day doing what he should be doing.”